by Dan Driscoll

The 2009 Texas Time Trials (TTTT), held September 24-27, enjoyed its best year ever. We moved our start/finish and race route about 15 miles to the west to TTTT’s new home, Glen Rose, TX. The new race route has about 20% more climbing, is more scenic, has less traffic, and is more interesting than the old course.

We had a record number of racers with riders from Austria, Denmark and 21 different states including Alaska.

Many of our local racers also volunteered before the race and many of our volunteers raced our 26.5-mile Sprint after volunteering for two or more days.

We staggered the starts so that most of the racers finish Saturday afternoon just in time for the Awards Bash. Racers commented on how well they liked having the shorter races starting later and how seeing fresh racers on the course added energy to their legs.

Tejas 500 RAAM Qualifier
Patrick Hager from Austria won the Tejas 500 solo male upright division with a time of 28 hours 16 minutes. With his win Hager also locked up the World Cup co-championship. Andy Palmer from Colorado finished two hours later in second place. Palmer was the first rider not qualified for RAAM and set men’s RAAM qualifying standard of 34:48, Palmer’s time plus 15%. Local randonneur extraordinaire, Gary Gottlieb, TX, finished third with a time of 32:21, including a stop to help a rider fix a flat in the middle of the night. Solo RAAM veteran David Haase, WI, is returning to racing and finished fourth, 33:02. Fifth place Jeff Winter, MO, also earned first place in the 50-59 age group with a time of 35:03. Jim Owens, IL, took first in the 60+ age group in 42:42.

Bryan McKenney, TX, won the men’s solo recumbent race with a time of 30:09 and took second overall. Recumbent legend and solo RAAM veteran John Schlitter, FL, was the second recumbent and fourth overall in 32:04. Out of the 27 solo males who started the Tejas 500, including four recumbents, 50% (14) finished. Five of the men earned the distinction of qualifying for solo RAAM. The reasons for abandonment were varied, several did not feel well upon arrival, but braved on, hoping for the best. Most succumbed to the hills, none of which were steep or that long, just relentless. Reports on the total feet of climbing vary, but we suspect over 20,000 feet to be a safe guess.

The TTTT is a race that riders can easily crew for themselves out of an ice chest or the back of a car. Last year’s top three solo Tejas 500 male racers all crewed for themselves.

The three solo female contestants had a better race than the men. All three finished and qualified for RAAM. Lynn Lashley from North Carolina finished first with a time of 42:07. Cathy Cramer, CO, finished second in 43:31 with prideful hugs from her mother/crew that brought a tear to our eyes. Heidi von Teitenberg, MD, finished third in 47:05. We never saw a single waver of commitment to finish from any of these strong females. Team Tejas 500 is a great way simultaneously to race and bond with friends. I often see this group having the most fun and camaraderie. Our two-man recumbent team Bent Dreams won the two-person division with a time of 27:47, also beating the four-man teams! We had three two-person mixed teams, with Dr. Fart finishing first in 32:55 and Zooma finishing second in 38:04. The Manly Bulge Bike Club, from Ft. Worth, TX, sent four teams. Their four-man team finished first in 29:28 and Awesome Foursome took second in 38:57.

For only the second time in the history of the Tejas 500 we had a tandem team sign up, finish and qualify for RAAM in 45:21. Daniel Schaaf and Sharon Stevens made it look fun. This, our seventh anniversary, was again blessed by near perfect weather; nights were cool, days warm, wind mild and no rain.

24-Hour Texas Time Trial
The 24-Hour Texas Time Trial started at 6 p.m. Friday night, with racers completing only the first lap before sunset. Dennis Johnson, racing in a recumbent, finished first overall with 371 miles with second place going to local Steve Petty, also in a recumbent with 344.5 miles. Thomas Scott, TX, won the solo male upright race with 318 miles, with our own TTTT webmaster Todd Martin finishing second, also with 318 miles, and third place going to Ryan Parnell, TX, and fourth to Robert Riggs, TX, both with 291.50 miles. Riggs won the age 50+ division and Wendell Hyink, MI, raced 212 miles to win the age 60+ division.

Peggy Petty, one of our volunteers, raced 318 miles in her recumbent, the first woman overall. Veronica Beagan of Alaska was the first place upright female with 265 miles. The Manly Bulge mixed team won the two-person mixed division with 185.5 miles.

12-Hour Challenge
Racers start the 12-Hour Texas Time Trials Challenge at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. Texan Ray Ward won the men’s 12-hour with 185 miles followed by solo RAAM veteran Shanna Armstrong, TX, also with 185.5 miles and Zoe Nance finishing 14 minutes later, also with 185.5 miles. Brian Wright, TX, took second in the men’s division with 159 miles and Dan McGuire, WI, was third with 159 miles. John Scott Freeman, OK, rode 159 miles on his recumbent. Pauline Lundgren, 65 from Nebraska, raced 132.5 miles—thank you for returning to our race so often!

Denise and Rick Neptune won tandem race with 159 miles. Team One Hour Racing won the male 12-hour with 224.76 miles. Manly Bulge #2 took second with 212 miles and Manly Bulge #1 was third with 185.50 miles.

6-Hour Shootout
Ben Cooper from Texas won the 6-hour Shootout with 106 miles. Chris Summers, TX, took second with 104.26 miles and Leonard Hansen, OK, was third with 97.59 miles. Robyn Fitzgerald from Texas was the first female with 85.94 miles. Deanna Showalter, TX, finished second with 79.50 and Melissa Gonzales, TX, took third with 69.46 miles. We had three Texan mixed tandems this year, with first place going to Gary and Sandy Estes with 102.3 miles, Diane Murray and Mark Reuter raced 97.34 miles and Tom and Tulla Rodgers took third with 79.1 miles.

One-Lap Sprint
This was TTTT’s second year to host the 26.5-mile One Lap Sprint with racers leaving at two-minute intervals. Pro triathlete Brent Poulson, TX, won in 1:04:39, an average speed of 24.59 mph. Stuart Hall, TX, placed second in 1:10:13, and Mike Abney, TX, took third, 1:11:10. Pam Wright won the women’s race in 1:27:09, Linda Sims second in 1:39:01 and Kalleen Whitford took third, 1:43:08. All three of the women were also volunteers.

The new venue was unanimously voted the best thing that we have done for the race. The riders traveled through downtown Glen Rose (both blocks) and past its courthouse on each 26.5-mile lap. Turns were marked with distinctive “TTT” reflective arrows. The start / finish was within walking distance of several hotels, fast food and fine dining. For the first time we had something other than hot dogs at the Awards Bash.

TTTT volunteers also came out in record numbers to support our TTTT racers, and because most of our volunteers are also riders, they knew just how and when to help—we lived up to our reputation of “Texas Volunteer Hospitality”. Many of the intersections on the course were staffed with motor home crews for the entire race; other corners had volunteers camped out, offering encouragement, safety or shade.

There was the usual tent city with campers, resting team members and crew all enjoying the shade of the large oak trees at the Glen Rose Park, where we staged our start / finish. We encourage racers to bring family, friends, kids and crew, we even feed them all at our Awards Bash. It’s fun to watch the kids playing in the park, while mom is out racing and the big hugs between racers and proud family members at the finish line.

With an excellent new course, a friendly venue, fast times and our largest field ever, The Texas Time Trials once again was a key end-of-season race.

Complete results, photos, racers' comments, splits and course records, check it out at: Texas Time Trials website